FOLLOWING the unfortunate cancellation by cellist Barbara Degener, Bude Music Society was extremely lucky to be able to find Catherine Tanner-Williams (oboe) and her husband Christopher Williams (piano) as last-minute replacement artists for the concert on Sunday, February 25 at Minstrels Music Centre.

The programme opened with three pieces for oboe, written by Richard Strauss when he was still at school. These were remarkable in harmony, texture and design and played with complete mastery by Catherine. Her performance of the 2nd movement of the Oboe sonata by Saint-Sa?ns later in the programme was a real joy, particularly the ‘Cadenza’ sections, all of which were accompanied with real sensitivity by Christopher.

The piano solos included Chopin’s formidable Scherzo No1 in B minor, when Christopher played the difficult opening passages with great assurance.

However, it was the ‘Nimble-Fingered Gentleman’ and ‘Railroad Rhythm’ written by the incomparable Billy Mayerl of Latin American Jazz fame which were the highlight of the Piano solos and the programme overall.

Catherine and Christopher also played transcription arrangements for oboe and piano of Mozart’s Mozart’s piano sonata in C major K.548 and ‘Songs and Dances’ by Glinka, where the inclusion of the oboe gave additional interest and dimension to the movements.

Many of the pieces played at the recital were included in a newly-released CD. It was a privilege to have heard them performed ‘in concert’ introduced so thoughtfully by two musicians who engaged naturally with the audience throughout.

At its next concert on Sunday, March 18 at 3pm in Minstrels Music Centre, Bude Music Society is delighted to welcome Ben Goldscheider, French Horn, who was the brass finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2016. He will be accompanied by Richard Uttley, piano, who returns to Bude following a hugely successful recital here a couple of years ago.